Flexible force or pressure sensor array using semiconductor strain gauge, fabrication method thereof and measurement method thereof

Abstract

The force or pressure sensor array of the present invention effectively has both flexibility and elasticity. Since the substrate itself is a kind of a polymer material, the substrate can be bent or expanded. Although silicon, which is a material of the semiconductor strain gauge, is easily broken and solid, mechanical flexibility can be secured if it is fabricated extremely thin. To this end, particularly, disclosed is a flexible force or pressure sensor array using semiconductor strain gauges 110, the sensor array comprising: a substrate 10 including: the semiconductor strain gauges 110 in which a plurality of elements formed in a certain array pattern is deformed by force or pressure, a pair of polymer film layers 120 and 130 having film surfaces contacted facing each other and containing the semiconductor strain gauge 110 between the film surfaces contacted with each other, and a pair of signal line layers formed on top and bottom surfaces of an insulating layer using either of the pair of polymer film layers 120 and 130 as the insulating layer and connected to the elements 111 of the array pattern to form electrodes, for fetching deformation signals outputted due to deformation of the elements 111 to outside; and a pair of elastomer layers 20 and 30 formed on both sides of the substrate 10 to contain the substrate 10 inside.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a flexible force or pressure sensor array using a semiconductor strain gauge, and more specifically, to a force or pressure sensor array using a semiconductor strain gauge, a method of fabricating the force or pressure sensor array, and a method of measuring force or pressure using the force or pressure sensor array, in which a high-sensitive semiconductor strain gauge is used, and flexible and stabile polymer film layers and elastomer layers are configured.BACKGROUND ART[0002]In fabricating a force or pressure sensor array, conventionally, a strain gauge is configured using a Ni / Cr or Cu / Ni metal layer. However, this method is disadvantageous in that since a gauge factor is lower than that of a semiconductor strain gauge as much as 50 to 100 times, sensitivity is lowered as much.[0003]The semiconductor strain gauge is fabricated by injecting impurities into mono-crystalline or polycrystalline silicon, and since the gauge factor ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention relates to a flexible force or pressure sensor array using a semiconductor strain gauge. The sensor array comprises a substrate, a semiconductor strain gauge, a pair of polymer film layers, a pair of signal line layers, and a pair of elastomer layers. The sensor array has high sensitivity, flexibility, and elasticity, and can quantitatively measure distribution of force or pressure. The sensor array can be used in various fields such as artificial skin, touch sensors, and tactile sensors. The sensor array uses a CMOS circuit and a flexible insulating layer to preprocess signals within a tactile sensor.

Problems solved by technology

However, this method is disadvantageous in that since a gauge factor is lower than that of a semiconductor strain gauge as much as 50 to 100 times, sensitivity is lowered as much.

However, due to lack of flexibility and problems of conventional fabricating processes that cannot be done together with like a polymer-based fabricating process, its application to a flexible and bendable force or pressure sensing array is limited.

However, since the characteristics of the sensor array depend on conductivity of the metal particles scattered in the base material, repeatability and restorability are significantly lowered, and thus there is a limit in quantitatively measuring distribution of force or pressure.

However, since a complex electronic circuit is needed in order to implement the zero potential method, it is difficult to integrate the electronic circuit with a small tactile sensor.

Accordingly, as the tactile sensor is getting smaller and the number of arrays is increased, the number of signal lines is increased and the tactile sensor becomes further vulnerable to noises if the entire signal processing is performed outside the tactile sensor.

Images